Warning! This video contains spoilers for Disney+'s "Obi-Wan Kenobi" and the entire Star Wars saga.
Disney+ just delivered a long-awaited confrontation between Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan and Darth Vader, and as epic as it was, it got everyone on the internet talking about where it ranked amongst the rest of the live-action Star Wars universe's lightsaber battles. Well, CinemaBlend's managing editor, Sean O'Connell, is here with his top seven lightsaber battles of all time, and of course the rematch made the list!
Disney+ just delivered a long-awaited confrontation between Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan and Darth Vader, and as epic as it was, it got everyone on the internet talking about where it ranked amongst the rest of the live-action Star Wars universe's lightsaber battles. Well, CinemaBlend's managing editor, Sean O'Connell, is here with his top seven lightsaber battles of all time, and of course the rematch made the list!
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00:00That lightsaber battle in the third episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi was insane, but is it among the best? You might be surprised.
00:08What have you become?
00:11I am what you made me.
00:19Hey guys, it's Sean O'Connell, the managing editor here at CinemaBlend, and the moment that episode 3 of Obi-Wan Kenobi ended, fans started to debate
00:27where that rematch between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader ranks among the all-time greatest lightsaber battles in franchise history.
00:34We decided to put them into some type of order to also figure out for ourselves where it ranked, and we decided we're gonna stick
00:40to live-action.
00:41There's a lot of animated lightsaber battles that are significant in Star Wars history, almost too many to really rank at this point.
00:48So we focused on the films and the Disney Plus television shows and came up with our
00:53seven best, because, you know, it leaves out a few key ones. I'll discuss them at the beginning of the video.
00:59Needless to say, we're going to get into some spoilers, not just for Obi-Wan Kenobi, but for the entire Star Wars saga.
01:04So if for some reason you don't want to hear about Star Wars spoilers,
01:06which potentially talks about the outcomes of some of these key battles, you might want to leave the video now. The rest of you guys,
01:13you cannot run.
01:15Let's start with just some of the honorable mentions, because you can't actually build the list of all of the lightsaber battles in Star Wars.
01:22There are a ton of them. So, you know, as I went over my choices,
01:25I had to leave out things like the Jedi taking on everyone at the end of Star Wars Attack of the Clones, or
01:31Yoda versus Count Dooku, also in Clones, and some of the reasons why I left these
01:36battles off is maybe the CGI wasn't quite as finished, or the stakes weren't necessarily as high.
01:42One that was tough to really leave off was Rey and Kylo Ren taking on the Praetorian Guards in
01:48Star Wars The Last Jedi, which looks amazing,
01:52but there are some
01:54narrative decisions that led to that fight that maybe take away from some of the impact, especially when you look at the seven
01:59that we focus on. So without further ado, if I leave out one of your battles,
02:03let me know in the comments down below of where you think it should have ranked in my overall list.
02:08But these are my personal preferences for these seven greatest lightsaber battles in Star Wars history,
02:13and I am going to include the one from Obi-Wan Kenobi Episode 3.
02:19For number seven, I chose Luke versus Kylo Ren in the conclusion of The Last Jedi.
02:25This is Luke Skywalker's swan song. It's the one-time teacher against the student that he feels like he failed.
02:31It is stylish as hell. The white salt surface of
02:36Krait just sets up this visually magnificent sequence, and Rian Johnson's fight choreography,
02:42calling back to Rey's lightsaber training on Ahch-To, is actually brilliant.
02:47Okay, even though, okay, technically, I know
02:49that Luke and Kylo Ren's lightsabers don't actually touch during this battle because of the whole force projection thing, but still, I'm counting it.
02:57It's number seven, and stop sleeping on The Last Jedi, people.
03:06Number six is Obi-Wan Kenobi versus Darth Vader in Star Wars A New Hope. This might be considered
03:12sacrilege, putting Obi-Wan's confrontation with Darth Vader so low on this list, but just because you came first
03:19doesn't necessarily mean that you are the best, and plenty of lightsaber battles that
03:23followed A New Hope took inspiration from this duel and actually raised the bar. The historical significance of this fight
03:29cannot be diminished, but I stand by the actual battles ranking on this list
03:34because of the action that takes place in it and just the way that, you know, other ones were able to improve on it as
03:39the series continued. Come on, R2, we're going.
03:43Haste in point for number five, I'm actually gonna put the Obi-Wan versus Darth Vader
03:47fight from Obi-Wan Kenobi right above their initial confrontation.
03:52It's just cooler than their inaugural battle because we as fans at this point are far more invested in their rivalry
03:59thanks to the events of the prequel trilogy and
04:02specifically the finale of Revenge of the Sith. The betrayal that we witnessed between these two in that movie
04:08adds to the anger and the fear that is conveyed in this battle that we just saw in Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Darth Vader
04:15dragging Ben Kenobi through flames is such a sick burn,
04:19literally, that that action instantly made this a classic in Star Wars Legacy.
04:29Coming in at number four, I picked Qui-Gon Jinn and a young Obi-Wan Kenobi taking on
04:34Darth Maul in Star Wars Episode 1, The Phantom Menace. Now, there are a couple lightsaber battles in Star Wars history that get bonus points
04:42simply because they look incredibly cool while also pushing the narrative points forward. Rey and Kylo, like I talked about, taking on the
04:50Praetorian Guards in The Last Jedi is definitely one of those sequences, and so is number four on this list, Qui-Gon Jinn and young
04:57Obi-Wan taking on Sith Lord Darth Maul and his double-bladed red lightsaber. It's a great villain,
05:03it's a great weapon,
05:04and of course, John Williams's Duel of the Fates is an all-timer in terms of musical compositions in Star Wars history.
05:15The top three choices on this list are stone-cold classics. You can't go wrong with any of them, but at number three,
05:21I'm putting Luke versus Darth Vader at the conclusion of The Empire Strikes Back.
05:26By the time that Luke Skywalker faced Darth Vader at the end of Empire, his rage
05:30had reached an all-time high, which made it easier for Darth Vader to
05:35emotionally manipulate his hot-headed foe. The battle is menacing, and it's terrifying because really, at that point,
05:41we'd believed that Darth Vader was an unstoppable force, no pun intended, and Luke didn't really have his full training yet,
05:48so we feared for his life. Of course, the paternal reveal at the end of the scene is legendary,
05:52but really, the entire sequence is an all-timer.
06:01Number two for me is Obi-Wan versus Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars The Revenge of the Sith.
06:07Part of the reason why I love a great lightsaber battle is not just the visuals,
06:11but the emotional component, and the prequel trilogy built all the way to the confrontation between, again,
06:17student and teacher, in this case, Obi-Wan feeling that he had failed Anakin,
06:22believing that Anakin was going to be the one that brought balance to the force.
06:25It's a lengthy battle. Of course, the fact that it's set on a volcanic planet
06:29with lava spewing all over the place, and our protagonists balancing on droids and locking arms is fantastic.
06:38And of course, the conclusion, which gets referenced back to in Obi-Wan Kenobi Episode 3,
06:42of Anakin just losing his limbs and catching on fire, is an image that we're never going to forget in the Star Wars franchise.
06:50And so, this battle between these guys, it's the highlight of the prequel trilogy.
06:53It's one of the best sequences in Star Wars, and it is the number two best Star Wars lightsaber battle that I've seen.
06:59You were the chosen one!
07:03It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them!
07:07I don't think this is controversial,
07:09but I'm picking Luke versus Darth Vader from Return of the Jedi as the number one greatest
07:14lightsaber battle in live action for Star Wars. And again, it comes down to the emotional component of it.
07:19Their first fight in Empire was fantastic, with Luke losing his hand and the revelation that Darth is his father.
07:25But the battle at the end of Return of Jedi is not just a fight for Luke's soul,
07:30but it's also a fight for the soul of Darth Vader, and whether or not the son can bring his father back from the dark side.
07:36The manipulations of Palpatine working on both of them is fantastic over the course of the battle.
07:41Luke's green lightsaber looks tremendous in the fight. It's lengthy.
07:46It's paralleled with the other two fights that are taking place on Andor and up in space.
07:50Terrific editing that takes place to build tension in all of those sequences.
07:54But really, seeing father and son going at it
07:57toe-to-toe for as long as they do, with the emotional stakes and all of that dramatic weight being balanced right there about whether good can
08:04finally triumph over evil is exactly why we buy into Star Wars. These are not just showy fights
08:12with flashy lightsaber battles. These are
08:15emotional, significant things that we invest in because we love the characters.
08:19And the conclusion of the original trilogy, Return of the Jedi, has the greatest lightsaber battle in Star Wars history.
08:30Now, I know I left out some battle that you love, so tell me about it in the comments down below.
08:35It's Star Wars. We all have our opinions, but I want to hear from you guys, especially because I know, listen, I didn't choose anything from Rise of Skywalker.
08:41Not a huge fan of that episode, but it has a couple of really good battles, and they probably could have made their way into this list.
08:48They'll probably make their way into yours. Again, thank you for coming by, checking out our Star Wars content.
08:53We're going to continue to cover Obi-Wan Kenobi as the last three episodes of the series play out.
08:58Hopefully, we'll see another exciting battle between Obi-Wan Kenobi and his former student, Anakin Skywalker,
09:04and maybe we'll have to redo our list by the time we see them confront each other again.